The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled in favor of the United States, determining that China had failed to comply with an earlier ruling and faulting them for antidumping and countervailing duties imposed on U.S. chicken imports. With the latest ruling, China will be expected to lower its duties, unless it files an appeal within 20 days.The ruling is the latest development in the trade dispute that dates back to 2010 when China first implemented the antidumping duties of up to 105.4 percent, and anti-subsidy duties of up to 30.3 percent, according to a report from Reuters.

The nation’s farms are in a “new farm crisis” as Kansas State University experts put it during the Cover Your Acres Conference on Jan. 17 in Oberlin, Kansas. And, as Zerr and others in attendance would soon learn from the variety of speakers, it could be another crucial year as farmers battle to turn a profit—especially the ones struggling to make payments on their rising debt. Some financial woes are so deep that economists like Mark Wood questioned whether these farmers can stay in business. In 2016, the average net farm income dropped to just $300 a farm and, for 2015, the average producer was in the red. Charlie Griffin, a research assistant professor in the School for Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University, calls this the “new farm crisis.”The crystal ball question is how long the new crisis could last, said Griffin, adding that farmers should have a long-term plan in place.“We don’t know if things are going to get better in the next year or two or not,” he said. “I can’t find anyone on the production ag economics side willing to express an opinion on that right now —especially in terms of grain prices.”

Western United Dairymen (WUD) and the California Dairy Campaign (CDC) have petitioned the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for an emergency hearing to increase over-base milk prices by about 35¢/cwt for the next 12 months. CDFA has 15 days in which to grant or deny the petition for hearing. “The significant negative margins witnessed every quarter since January 2015 have placed many producers in a dire financial situation,” says Annie AcMoody, WUD director of economic analysis. “According to CDFA’s cost of production data, the smallest loss recorded these past three years was 23¢/cwt of milk produced during the first quarter of 2017.”

The fight over a patch of farmland in Goodhue County near Zumbrota is going to the Minnesota Supreme court. Concerned residents are contesting an appeals court ruling that allows construction of a proposed hog farm to go through.Opponents argue the farm would violate county zoning ordinances. They also say it will create problems like possible sinkholes and the release of a gas they say is hazardous.The farm has the needed permits, but construction is on hold while the legal battle continues.The farm owners say what they're trying to build has been used by livestock owners for fifty years.

A group of Arkansas state legislators has approved a ban on dicamba use between April 16 and Oct. 31 of this year, meaning that soybean and cotton growers will not be able to use Monsanto's Xtendimax or BASF's Engenia for over-the-top applications. The action by the state's Legislative Council came without discussion this morning. The council's Administrative Rules and Regulations Subcommittee also approved the seasonal ban, which was approved as a proposed rule by the Arkansas State Plant Board in November.In December, the subcommittee sent the proposal back to the plant board, asking it to review the science and consider whether to divide the state into two growing zones for purposes of regulation. The plant board rejected any changes to its proposal, which includes exemptions for the use of dicamba in pastures, rangeland, turf, ornamental, direct injection for forestry, and in the home.

Farmer has high hopes for her spina bifida treatment as well: At the four-month, postoperative checkup, Darla and Spanky were able to run and play like typical puppies, seemingly free of the debilitating paralysis that plagued them just a month earlier. Within the next year, Farmer plans to file a request with the National Institute of Health to start a clinical trial of the stem cell treatment in human fetuses with spina bifida. Like the puppies, her hope is that children born with spina bifida will be able to enjoy a life free of wheelchairs and walkers. It’s too early to tell if the treatment will be a success in human beings—but if it is, we’ll have puppies like Spanky and Darla to thank.

A bird flu prevention zone has been declared across England as all farmers are told to cover ponds in netting to prevent infected birds landing. The move, announced by the Government's chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens, means all poultry and bird keepers in England have to follow strict measures to protect their livestock from the disease.It comes as 13 dead wild birds were confirmed to have the virus in Warwickshire, following the discovery of the disease in wild birds in Dorset, where a total of 31 infected birds have now been identified.

A federal court is expected to finalize an order Monday that will require untold thousands of farms to report that their animals are continuously releasing at least 100 pounds of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide per day, even though there is no generally accepted way to calculate emissions from decaying manure. The Environmental Protection Agency, which argued against the mandate, has instructed producers to email the National Response Center, rather than deluge the Coast Guard-staffed center with phone calls. Within a month, producers will have to follow up and file a form with EPA regional offices.“It’s not going to be fun for producers. It’s not complicated, but it’s different,” Washington State Dairy Federation policy director Jay Gordon said. “You check the box and then do something more productive.”The mandate stems from a lawsuit filed by environmental groups against the EPA. The groups objected that the EPA exempted agriculture from the Superfund law, which requires factories and vessels to report chemical leaks and spills.

After consultation with government and industry personnel, it’s very clear that milk prices paid to dairy farmers in 2018 still will not be pretty. The price in Federal Order #1 could average between $16.40 per cwt. and $16.60 per cwt. (hundredweight) for this year. This is deplorable, and this time, something must be done.What happens to dairy farmers in Federal Order #1, will also happen all across the United States. These prices should not be happening, and action must be taken to soften this blow to all dairy farmers, and I don’t mean tinkering with the ill-fated Margin Insurance Program.Pro-Ag and other people are proposing temporary solutions to the dairy farmers’ crisis until either Congress or the USDA can come up with a feasible pricing system that would allow dairy farmers an opportunity to cover their cost of production.Certainly Congress has the ability and responsibility to either peg the Class I price to a level of at least $20 per cwt. or, more feasible, place a floor price under all milk used for manufacturing dairy products, which would also raise the Class I price.

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The State Ag and Rural Leaders group was formed as a 501 c(3) non-profit in 2006 at the 5th Annual Legislative Ag Chairs Summit in Tempe, Arizona. The first Legislative Ag Chairs Summit was in Dallas in 2002.